Morgan Stanley is the latest bank in Europe to make a push into the world of advising distressed companies by hiring Ben Babcock, Merrill Lynch’s head of restructuring in Europe, people familiar with the situation said.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the hire but it is understood that Mr Babcock will join the bank in late summer to head a European restructuring effort. Morgan Stanley has a restructuring group in the US headed by Blake O’Dowd, but does not currently have a parallel group in Europe.